1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a footwear, more particularly to a footwear which is easy to wear and remove.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional footwear usually includes a footwear body with a top opening, and a footwear lace. The footwear body includes a vamp, a tongue, and a pair of eyelet tabs. The tongue has a front portion connected to the vamp, and a rear portion extending to the top opening. The tongue further has an opposite pair of lateral sides that extend from the vamp to the top opening. Each of the eyelet tabs is connected to the vamp, and is disposed adjacent to one of the lateral sides of the tongue. Each of the eyelet tabs is formed with a plurality of eyelets that are aligned with each other in a direction from the vamp to the top opening. The footwear lace has front and rear portions. The front portion of the footwear lace is strung through the eyelets to form a criss-cross pattern on the eyelet tabs. The rear portion of the footwear lace can be tied together so as to tighten the footwear. However, it is time-wasting to tie and untie the footwear lace when wearing and removing the footwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,640 discloses a quick adjusting footwear lace system for adjusting footwear lace tension in a single movement. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the footwear lace system disclosed in this U.S. patent includes a cinch plate 3 having eyelets 301 which are spaced apart by about the same distance as eyelets 201 formed in the eyelet tabs of the footwear. The footwear lace 1 is strung through the eyelets 301 at the cinch plate 3 along with the eyelets 201 in the eyelet tabs of the footwear. A strap 4, fixably attached at a lower end to the footwear body 2 and loopable at an upper end through a slot in the cinch plate 3, is used to adjustably pull the cinch plate 3 and the footwear lace 1 looped through the eyelets 301 downwardly and thus increase the footwear lace tension so as to tighten the footwear. However, the footwear lace system disclosed in this U.S. patent is merely configured to adjust tension of the footwear lace, and does not facilitate wearing and removal of the footwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,761 discloses a footwear having an improved closure. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the closure of the footwear 6 disclosed in this U.S. patent includes a first elongate area 601 provided with a plurality of eyelets, a second non-apertured elongate area 602 provided with a male VELCRO(trademark) fastener 702, a footwear lace 5, and a panel 7 provided with a plurality of eyelets corresponding to the eyelets of the first elongate area 601 and a female VELCRO(trademark) fastener 701 on the inner surface of the panel 7. The footwear lace 5 is strung through the eyelets of the first elongate area 601 and the eyelets of the panel 7 to form a criss-cross pattern. The panel 7 can releasably engage the second non-apertured elongate area 602 through the engagement between the male and female fasteners 702, 701.
Although the footwear disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,761 facilitates wearing and removal of the footwear, the VELCRO(trademark) fasteners are liable to loosen during use and easily accumulate dirt thereon.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a footwear which is provided with a lace tightening assembly that facilitates wearing and removal of the footwear.
The footwear according to this invention includes a footwear body, a lace tightening assembly, and a footwear lace unit.
The footwear body has a top opening, and includes a vamp, and first and second eyelet tabs connected to the vamp. The first eyelet tab is formed with a plurality of eyelets. The second eyelet tab includes a front portion proximate to the vamp, a rear portion proximate to the top opening, and an intermediate eyelet-free portion between the front and rear portions of the second eyelet tab. Each of the front and rear portions of the second eyelet tab is provided with at least one eyelet.
The lace tightening assembly includes: a base mounted to the second eyelet tab at the eyelet-free portion; a spool mounted rotatably on the base; a pull string having a fixing portion secured to the spool, an intermediate portion connected to the fixing portion and wound on the spool, and a connecting portion connected to the intermediate portion and provided with a ring unit; and a restricting unit for restricting rotation of the spool relative to the base.
The footwear lace unit has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion of the footwear lace unit is strung through the eyelets of the first eyelet tab, the eyelets of the second eyelet tab and the ring unit to form a criss-cross pattern on the first and second eyelet tabs. The second portion of the footwear lace unit is disposed proximate to the top opening.
The spool is rotatable relative to the base in a footwear tightening direction, in which the pull string is wound on the spool to increase tension of the footwear lace unit, and a footwear loosening direction opposite to the footwear tightening direction, in which the pull string is unwound from the spool to slacken the footwear lace unit.